Time Rules Us
by AliceFae
Summary: My attempt at a time-turner fic. A young Severus Snape is accidentally sent forward in time. What happens when he meets his snarky self? What happens when he meets Hermione Granger? SS/HG.
1. Chapter 1

Time Rules Us

A/N: I've been writing and reading fanfics for a while, but I had never done a time-turner fic, though I've had millions of ideas for it. I know it's been done before, but honestly, I love them . Enjoy and please review.

Warnings: Quite a bit of cursing in this chapter as Severus gets angry.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Tears

So James Bloody Potter and Lily Evans were officially a couple, Severus noticed from the back of the Charms classroom. Double charms with the damn Gryffindors was a pain, but watching Lily's fingers as they intertwined around Potter's made his stomach weak. The students were scattered about the room practicing for the practical part of the Charms N.E.W.T.S or rather, pretending to be practicing or "discussing their assignment" while in fact talking about the latest gossip and who had snogged who. That mutt Sirius Black kept levitating the hem of Patty Puckerton's skirt. He would duck whenever she turned around and swung a hand at him while whining a playful "stooooop." Merlin, he hated them. Lily's musical laughter brought his attention back to the couple standing by the front of the room. Their backs were towards him so he didn't miss when James' sneaky seeker fingers snaked over the back of Lily's skirt. Severus was angry, more than that; he was fuming. How could she let Potter do that without so much as modest disapproval? He was squeezing the quill in his hand so tightly, that it cut into his skin, sending a sharp pain through his arms. Of course, it was no match to what he felt when he looked at Lily. His eyes were involuntarily watering as his teeth grinded against each other. He barely heard the ringing of the bell signaling the end of the lesson. Only when he saw Lily running across the room to fetch her bag, did he realize class was over. But he wasn't looking at Lily, his eyes were on James. Sirius was walking towards Potter, they bumped-knuckles in a congratulatory way before laughing. Morons. Empty- headed morons. Snape's dark thoughts followed him as he packed his books hurriedly. He had a lesson right after this one. Or, to put it more precisely, he had a lesson at the same time as his current lesson, and was now to travel back in time in order to attend it. Oh how his father's muggle head would spin at the thought of time-travel. There was another grim thought; his father, his good- for- nothing, idiotic, drunken father. Severus grabbed the time-turner from the little sack in his bag and placed it around his neck. James and Sirius and a few other students were still in the room, but he had managed to do this before without anyone noticing. He was about to give the little gold artifact a precise turn when Sirius' large hand slapped the desk besides him.

"Hey, Snivellus, what cha got there?" Severus rolled his eyes, anger immediately flooding his being, and tears of uncontrollable anger reaching his eyes. Fuck.

"Give it here" said Sirius extending his hand towards Severus. Severus rolled his eyes at him in anger and swung his bag over his shoulders as he made to walk out the classroom. He didn't trust his voice to tell Sirius off. He only hoped the bloody mongrel hadn't noticed his eyes water.

"Hey Snivellus, are you crying?" Fuck. Severus saw Lily glance his way with concern as Sirius called over to James across the room "Hey Prongs, come see this. I made Snivelly here cry." Severus made his mind to run as quickly as he could from the classroom, but Sirius had his hand on his bag and pulled him back roughly. Severus swallowed back his tears, and turned back to Sirius with as much venom in his voice as he could muster.

"Don't you touch me, you fucking mutt." Severus spat out.

Sirius and James made a mocking "oooh" sound before James came around and knocked Severus' bag from his shoulders.

"Did you just offend my friend, Snivellus?" James said and Severus could hear Lily's little pleads of "James, don't" from somewhere in the classroom. Severus made a quick grab for his wand and pointed it at James' face. The messy-haired teen stepped back a bit and it was now Snape's turn to receive Lily's soft pleads. No one wanted to be on the wrong side of Snape's wand. However, Sirius, who was a hot-headed fool, paid no mind to his wand and ran at Severus, pushing him up against the wall. Severus had only a chance to shoot a quick jinx in Potter's direction, missing the boy by a hair. Sirius pushed Snape into the wall face first. He held his arms behind him as James ran towards them and unhooked the chain of the time-turner.

"What's this, Snivellus?" Sirius said, still pressing him against the wall. "You're wearing necklaces now?"

James laughed and turned the time-turner in his hand, then with a finger began fidgeting around with the small engravings that lined the inside of the rings.

"Don't touch that, you idiot!" Severus shouted at James, but Sirius pushed his face against the wall, breaking his lip.

"James, stop!" Lily was screaming frantically. "You don't know what it is, stop!"

James looked at Lily suddenly concerned "You think it's something dark?" Before Lily had a chance to say she didn't know, James pressed the time-turner to Severus' face. "Is this one of your dark little toys?"

"No, you moron- ugh!" Sirius had pushed his head against the wall again.

"Fuck, Sirius, take it easy." James screamed. This was just like Bloody Potter, though Snape. He'd be the first one to follow along Sirius' stupid games, but as soon as he smelled trouble, he became serious. Bloody Fucking Hero, he is.

James spoke to Severus again. "Where did you get this?"

"A jewelry shop?" Joked Sirius, but James sent him a dark look.

"du munustree guff it to mm." Severus slurred against the wall.

"What? Sirius quit shoving him against the wall." Sirius released his grip and Severus was able to talk, though he had blood running down his lip. He turned his head slightly to see Lily's concerned face, but he wasn't sure if it was due to him being abused by her two favorite goons or the fact that she thought James was holding some kind of cursed object. Severus felt anger rush through him but surprisingly, not tears. He brought his voice down to a low hiss.

"The ministry gave it to me. You can go ask Dumbledore if you'd like."

James looked at the object intrigued. Severus saw relief flood Lily's expression and he closed his eyes, but again, the pain was less. It seemed to him that he was seeing Lily for the first time in a long time. Though he saw her almost daily in classes, it had been a while since her attention was directed at him. Yet, suddenly, he didn't care. The anger from mere minutes ago had vanished. The pain became a light sting, and then simply a memory of a nasty cut. Severus thought there was something wrong with him; some terrible psychological condition that was making him forget his feelings for Lily in a matter of moments. But as he saw James put his arm around Lily, he realized the spell she had over him was broken by the realization that this was no longer his Lily. She had changed from the girl that was his best friend and the love of his life.

He fell suddenly to the ground as the pressure of Sirius's body was removed from his back. His bag was thrown hard against him as he made to get up. James stepped in front of him and pushed the time-turner into Severus chest, pushing him back as he did so. When they left the classroom, Severus gathered his wand from the ground. He glanced over at the time-turner. Everything looked to be in order. He hoped the idiot hadn't messed with it. Severus really didn't know what exactly the strange engravings inside the rings meant, but he had a basic idea of how a time-turner worked. After wiping the blood from his lip with the sleeve of his shirt, Severus hoisted his bag over his shoulder again, and swung the chain of the time-turner over his neck. He gave it two turns to make up for lost time he'd spent with those two idiots. The class around him filled with students and then emptied out again, for a brief seconds he saw himself walking in and then the classroom was empty again. This was his stop.

The class remained empty and for a second and he thought the time-turner has stopped, but he could hear the furious ticking of the small object in his palm. Suddenly, it was dark. But the ticking remained. So the idiot _had_ messed with time turner. He could kill him! At least he was only back a few hours it seemed. Light began to appear on the classroom windows and the time-turner ticked faster. Before he could realize what was going on, he saw the events of the day play in front of him again in seconds. Night fell on the windows and then, a pull like apparition, send him through a dark tunnel. He saw days and nights flash by like scenes on the window of a moving car. Severus had only seconds to realize what was happening before his knees hit the floor of a familiar classroom. If he was correct, he had just traveled forward through time. Only question was, how far?

A/N: I already have the whole story planned out. Please review with what you think. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi everyone and thank you for all the great reviews! I hope you like this one. It's slowly moving into something...

I know my punctuation and overall grammar in the last chapter wasn't perfect, but I want to get this out of my head and onto a computer as soon as i can, before it leaves my head forever! I hope the little errors didn't distract anyone from enjoying the chapter overall.

Here's chapter 2 :-p

Chapter 2: Landing

Graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a dream for Hermione Granger. Now, in her Seventh year, she saw that dream more vividly than ever. Unfortunately, that dream would have to wait. It was the start of the winter holiday and as Hermione crossed the grounds of the somewhat empty castle, she thought of what Harry had told her last night after dinner. The Dark Lord was attacking, he said simply, leaving her with a million questions. He held up his hand to silence her. "Dumbledore will be discussing that with us tomorrow. Order meeting." Hermione simply nodded and moved to pack her bags. It had not bothered her at the moment to be unaware of the date of the attacks, but now that she thought about all the effort she'd put into her school work all these years and the prospect of Voldemort ruining all that, made her angry enough to Avada the Dark Lord with her own wand. She had pursued academic excellence since her first day in the school and she was not about to give all that up! She needed to talk to the Headmaster tonight. Ask if there was a way she could graduate sooner… Her ramblings led her towards the Gryffindor Common Room where only a few girls remained, still packing last minute things. Ginny was among them, folding magazines into the pockets of her bag. She noticed Hermione come in and waved her over. "Hey Hermione, are you all packed?" Hermione was staying at Grimmauld Place with the Order and most of the Weasleys for the holidays.

"Almost," said Hermione. "I've got a few books I need to pack and then- " Ginny cut her off with a shrill little cry.

"Oh no I forgot my charms book in class! I have a big test at the start of the term." Ginny slapped her hand on her forehead. "I hope it's still there. Last year I lost my Potions book. Mom will kill me if I lose another; they cost a fortune. Come with me to get it, please!"

Hermione agreed quickly and followed Ginny out the portrait hole. They ran up multiple flights of stairs passing Mcgonagall on their way.

"Girls, girls! No running!" She said in her usual bossy manner.

"Sorry, Professor," Hermione said, a little out of breath.

"I left my book in Professor Flitwick's class and we're going back to get it. " Ginny interjected.

"And how exactly where you expecting to get inside? All classrooms are locked at the beginning of the Holiday."

Both Hermione and Ginny made a small "o" of recognition before following Mcgonagall down the hall.

Once outside the Charms classroom, professor Mcgonagall pulled out a brass ring of keys from a pocket in her robe. They looked too small to open the door, but with a quick swish of her wand, the keys had magically enlarged. As she unlocked the door, Ginny did a small dance of anticipation which Hermione hoped had gone unseen by Mcgonagall. The door flung open and Ginny practically ran inside, stopping suddenly only a second later. Standing inside the classroom was a tall, black- haired boy with an extremely confused expression. Mcgonagall walked in front of Ginny, her face tense with worry. She turned toward Ginny and asked her to call the Headmaster immediately. Ginny ran off in search of Dumbledore as Mcgonagall, completely ignoring Hermione, walked carefully into the classroom.

Hermione peeked her head carefully into the classroom. The boy opposite to them was very tall and probably the same age as she. He had dark black hair that framed his thin face nicely. His nose was a bit large and crooked, but overall Hermione shyly thought that he looked quite handsome, but also very familiar… He was wearing a Slytherin uniform, but there was something different about it, the stitching or the color was a bit off.

The quiet staring contest continued for a few more seconds until the stranger finally spoke in a familiar deep voice.

"I… I'm afraid I'm lost." He said softly. Then gathering up a bit more strength in his tone, he continued. "I need to see the Headmaster."

Mcgonagall nodded her head and whispered a nervous "Of course, of course."

Dumbledore arrived seconds after and his reaction at seeing the boy was just as shocked as Mcgonagall's had been. However, the look on Dumbledore's face soon changed into a strange smile of quiet recognition. He turned to Mcgonagall.

"Go get Severus." The boy's head shot up suddenly, but Dumbledore continued. "Not you, Severus." He said towards the boy, and then turned to Mcgonagall again. "Tell him to meet us at Headquarters. The meeting will be starting earlier than planned today."

The boy's eyes fell on Hermione and they locked eyes for a moment. Hermione wondered who this strange guy could be, but at the same time, she had a possible answer. She glanced at the time-turner around his neck and it suddenly hit her. As if to confirm her thoughts, Dumbledore motioned over for the young man to join him. "Ah Severus, my boy, follow me now." Eyes still on Hermione, Severus picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder before crossing the room. They shared one more glance before he walked out behind Dumbledore. Her eyes followed them down the hall.

So, this was Snape? But how? Hermione could only hope her questions would be answered tonight.

"Got it!" shouted Ginny, bringing Hermione down from her thoughts. She looked inside the classroom, only to find Ginny hugging her Charms book.

Once out of the classroom, Mcgonagall closed the door behind them in a trance, then walked towards her office, an expression of worry plastered on her features.


	3. Chapter 3

I love all your review! You guys keep me going!

However, I want to clear up a few things before we jump to the reading.

Voldemort is alive in this fic as you must have noticed.

This is 7th year, but it does not stick to the 6th or 7th book. However, almost everything else applies, including young Snape's terrible mistakes in his own time. Hence the future is as it should be at this point. Just read, you'll find out. Have a little faith in me :-p

Oh! Another quick note: There are around three main points of view in this story. Young Severus, Hermione and older Severus Snape (as you will see in this chapter.) Also, I've made a brief outline and there should be around 16 more chapters in this story if I stick to my mental draft.

Gracias, ありがとう and thanks for reading!

Chapter 3: Surprise

Severus Snape held his wrist tightly in an effort to suppress the stinging that had burdened his skin all week. The Dark Lord was not happy, and when He wasn't happy, he made darn well sure that none of his followers were. Voldemort had big plans for an attack, _the_ attack, through which he hoped to finally capture and destroy Potter along with the better part of the Order. Unfortunately for him, he had been unable to take full control of the ministry and his anger could be noted in the multiple raids and killings that flooded the week. The Muggle papers were littered with headlines of terrible accidents and multiple unexplained murders. The thought of it made Severus' stomach turn and he felt a sharp sting on his arm again. He winced slightly and wandered a look at the clock. It was already six o' clock, time to meet Dumbledore for his little meeting. Severus had told Dumbledore of Voldemort's plan to attack as soon as he'd heard of them, and tonight they were having an Order meeting to discuss the plan and strategize one of their own. The original meeting time had been nine in the evening (as it usually was.) However, Mcgonagall had given Severus a surprise visit earlier that afternoon to inform him of a change of schedule. Severus noticed she seemed very uncomfortable and was tempted to ask if she was alright, but knowing Mcgonagall, he figured her sad disposition was due to nothing more than finding another one of Albus' lemondrops on her favorite armchair. He agreed to be there earlier with a nod and waved Magonagall off his fireplace before she had a chance to speak again. He gathered his robes from the nearby chair and stuffed a small vial of Essence of Murtlap into his pocket. With a quick pop, he apparated on the front steps of Grimmauld Place.

Severus tapped his wand against the door and muttered a ridiculous password (no doubt chosen by Dumbledore) then stood back as the door swung open. The loud bark of Mrs. Black's portrait was the first sound he heard and he rolled his eyes at the rude woman as he walked past her. "Filthy Half-bloods and half-breeds. Dirty Mudbloods." All memorized lines in Snape's mind. The narrow entrance hall opened into a small living area where he noticed two of the Weasley kids (Fred and George) talking animatedly to their father. Arthur shook his head in disappointment at whatever they were telling him. He walked past them without so much as a second glance and followed into the dining area where Mrs. Weasley was busy setting about plates and sending napkins flying onto the table. He made to move past her as well, but she quickly caught him in the act.

"Oh Severus," she said a bit uncomfortably. She rarely spoke to him outside of simple greetings. Severus turned around to meet her and tried his best at a polite nod. "Molly" he said with an air of annoyance. She better make this quick, thought Snape. He was not disappointed when she spoke.

"Dumbledore is upstairs in the office. He told me to send you straight up once you got here."

"Thanks" was all Severus said before walking up the stairs in a bored manner. His robes billowed behind him as he turned sharply on his heels and made towards the small office. Whatever Dumbledore was planning to tell him, had better be good. He had put off three hours of precious brewing time to join him for an "Order meeting" that was apparently lacking in members.

He stood before the office door and hesitated for a moment. Something in his gut told him he was not in for good news. Before his hand had a chance to reach the door –knob, the door creaked slowly open and Dumbledore welcomed him inside in a calm voice. Dumbledore sat behind a large, aged, mahogany desk that faced the door. Across from the desk were two larger and rather worn-looking chairs. Severus noticed one was taken by a dark-haired guest.

Albus gestured to the empty seat before him. "Severus, please," he said with a small smile. "Take a seat."

Before Severus had time to follow the headmaster's invitation, the head of the strange guest turned hesitantly towards him. The definition of a "double-take" could not have been better exemplified by any other situation. Severus' eyes widened in disbelief as he looked upon… himself, for there he was, his younger self, haunting him like a moving, breathing, photograph. His legs gave under him involuntarily and he grabbed onto the arm of the chair to keep from falling. This was obviously some sort of terrible illusion caused by far too many hours of potion brewing and obscene amounts of sleeping potions.

Dumbledore stood and walked towards Snape. He helped him into his seat before sitting himself behind his desk again. The younger Snape looked at Severus with narrowed eyes, following every line on the older man's face and noticing every small detail of his attire. Severus looked back at his younger self in disbelief. He noted the slightly shorter hair he used to have and glanced over his old Slytherin robes. His large and crooked nose seemed out of place on his young face, and he noticed he had been just as slim in his youth as he was now. Severus' eyes followed the thin bottom lip of the younger man and noticed a small crack of blood on it. Suddenly a violent flood of memories came to him. He was young, the same age as the boy sitting beside him. He recalled Sirius' grip on his arms and the rough push he'd given him against the wall. James was there too, toying with something that belonged to him. The image faded into Lily. She was standing above him and as he opened his eyes, she smiled. He had fainted somehow, and had ended up in the Hospital Wing, and she, Lily, had come to see him. What a painful memory it was; so beautiful, yet so fleeting. So how had he ended up here? Severus looked back at Dumbledore and spoke for the first time.

"What is going on here?"

Dumbledore glanced at the two Snapes sitting before him with a thin apologetic smile. His head was slightly tilted as he looked over his spectacles, blue eyes shining sadly. He turned towards the adult Snape and began.

"Severus, I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you." Snape made to interject with a crude remark, but Albus held his hand up to stop him. "Please, Severus, let me continue."

The younger Snape remained silent; he seemed to be trying to suppress some kind of outburst.

"When you were seventeen- the age of the young man here," Albus guided his hand towards the quiet young Severus. "You got yourself into a bit of trouble with a time-turner." This time it was young Snape's turn to interject the conversation.

"It wasn't my fault!" He bit back angrily. "If Potter and that bloody hound of his hadn't touched it- "

Dumbledore raised his hand again. "Quiet, my boy, the particular details of your story are not relevant at this point."

Snape, the adult Snape, huffed in sarcastic amusement and rolled his eyes. Of course, he thought. It was just like Dumbledore to try and keep his golden boys out of the problem. He couldn't recall any incident to do with a time-turner, but he was sure that if his younger self found it suiting to blame James and Sirius, then it was probably their fault.

"Is there a problem Severus?" Albus asked the older Snape after noting his huff of dark amusement. His voice was a note more serious than before. Snape chanced a look at the boy beside him, he was fuming, but he had no pity for him. Severus had had to learn how to control his anger on his own; he figured his younger self would soon learn this. He looked over at Dumbledore and nodded. "Continue." He said simply.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and rested his back against the chair before beginning his rather long anecdote of rather long ago. Dumbledore said he recalled how in the winter of 1977 (close to twenty one years ago), he'd walked into his office at Hogwarts, only to discover a very confused Severus Snape.

"You had no idea where you'd come from," said Dumbledore with a sad smile. "But you looked extremely anguished and you had tears in your eyes." At this statement, the young Severus fidgeted in his seat. Dumbledore continued.

"I noticed the time-turner around your neck, and could only speculate of what had happened. Naturally, I sent you to the hospital wing, where you awoke fully recuperated a few days later. Young Lily looked after you every day." The adult Snape tensed and straightened his shoulders at the mention of his old beloved's name. He was surprised to note that the younger version of himself seemed unaffected by mention of Lily. It was odd. Dumbledore continued to speak.

"I have waited many years for something like the events of today to occur. I knew it was only a matter of time." As if to close off the conversation, a low rap came to the door. Dumbledore voiced a welcoming "come in" and soon the small office had become crowded with Order members. Mad-eye was first to step inside, bumping his cane against the floor while a sour expression played across his features. He was followed closely behind by Kingsley and Lupin. The three men stood before Dumbledore, greeting him respectfully, and then simultaneously all eyes fell of the figures seated. Kingsley, who had not known Severus is his youth, was taken slightly aback by the resemblance in the two men. Lupin, however, looked frightened for a moment then his eyes shifted towards Dumbledore in confusion. Mad-eye, who was not known for his tact, opened his unscarred eye as wide as his magical one and after a few moments of shifty looks, moved his eyes over to Dumbledore.

"What the bloody hell is going on here, Albus?"

Dumbledore sighed before looking at Mad-Eye. He told his story once more.

A/N: Hey guys, sorry this isn't longer. I'm trying to do a chapter a-day and it proves kind of hard, especially when I have a full-time job and have to start on my reading for the upcoming spring semester. Next chapter (Young Severus' P.O.V) Harry and the gang come in. What will young Severus think when he sees the son of his nemesis? Plus, we begin to see the interaction between Hermione and little Sevie (hehe, NO ONE tell him I called him that!) There's also an interesting moment between Severus and… well, Severus.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry if this isn't too polished. I just wanted to get something out there to get me into the writing mood again. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4

Young Severus sat still as Dumbledore retold his story. His hand folded into knuckles as he recalled the events of earlier that day, or as he realized now, of twenty-one years ago. He could feel the eyes of the men in the room on him, and he hesitated to meet their gaze. Severus looked at the odd man with the enchanted eye first. He was looking at him with a narrowed eye of mistrust. His fake eye kept shifting from Severus' face to his wrist and then it would move towards the older Severus and inspect the same places. Severus shivered involuntarily; the man really was creepy. He moved on to the next man. He was tall and dark-skinned, and although he was watching Severus carefully, his eyes held none of the mistrust he'd seen in the crazy-eyed man. Last among the standing figures was someone Severus found strikingly familiar. Severus had no doubt who this man was. It was Remus Lupin, and the look of agony on his face confirmed it. Lupin was friends with those two idiots; Sirius and James. They called him Moony and Snape knew very well why. Last year Sirius had played a sick prank on him, the possible outcome of which could have been fatal. James, bloody little hero that he was, had managed to stop Severus from encountering Lupin in his werewolf form. Severus knew Lily would have never spoken to James again if she'd heard they'd killed him. Besides, Sirius would have probably been sent to Azkaban and charged with murder. Looking at Remus, Severus realized that he might be meeting James and Sirius soon, probably the little rat they hung out with too; Peter Pettigrew. He wondered briefly how Lily would react if she saw him. Did she and his older self even talk?

There were a few seconds of silence after Dumbledore finished his story, and then crazy-eye spoke. "Has he got the mark yet?" Dumbledore shook his head and Severus looked between the two men. _Mark?_ He thought.

"What mark?" Severus couldn't help but ask. It was slightly irritating that Dumbledore knew more about him than he himself did. The older Severus, who had remained quiet through Dumbledore's speech, suddenly spoke.

"Perhaps it is better if we do not speak of this in _his _presence?" he suggested with an air of annoyance. Dumbledore nodded, but the dark-skinned wizard spoke up.

"Albus, if I may ask; does Severus remember any of this?" He looked at the older Severus and he shook his head.

"No, I don't. After hearing Albus' story, I believe I must have been Obliviated before being sent back."

"Then there is so harm in him knowing, is there?" This time it was Lupin who spoke, avoiding young Severus' eyes but looking right into the older version. Dumbledore cleared his throat and then spoke.

"I believe some things will become difficult to hide, however, I am not sure how much information should be given to him at the moment." All four men looked at Dumbledore with knowing eyes and Severus felt extremely irritated that he was left out of their silent agreement.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed and then a rap on the door made all heads in the room turn.

Lupin made towards the door. "That must be Tonks, I'll tell her to meet us downstairs."

"Oh please, let her in." Spoke Dumbledore. Lupin nodded and opened the door.

Tonks was a short, thin girl with a face that wasn't exactly pretty. Severus immediately noticed her for her messy pink hair. Lupin brought his face down slightly and they shared a brief kiss before she came into the room, leaving the door opened behind her. Severus turned his face away. So Lupin had a girlfriend? _A wife?_ He looked over at the adult Snape and wondered if he had anyone. Severus had never been the romantic type, so he also wondered what she looked like (if there was such a person in his life.) His hopes, however, weren't high.

The pink-haired girl greeted everyone in the room warmly, even the adult Severus. However, when her eyes landed on the young Snape, she was slightly taken aback and looked towards Lupin for an answer. Dumbledore was about to speak when the mad-eyed wizard bellowed at the door.

"Potter!" He said and Severus felt suddenly sick. He wasn't looking forward to meeting his nemesis in the future. Severus didn't bother to turn his head towards the door as he heard the floor creak under the pressure of two familiar feet. He was sure his older self didn't like James either, for he hadn't bothered to turn around. Severus was confused when he heard Dumbledore speak next.

"Harry, my boy, come in."

The young Severus turned his head slowly towards the door. For a second he was sure he saw James, but how could that be? The figure before him was in his teen years. Then the boy turned his glance towards him and Severus felt he was looking into Lily's green orbs. Harry's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Severus and once again, Dumbledore cleared his throat, ready to retell his tale.

Severus felt the bright green eyes on him as Dumbledore spoke. The story being old to him, he decided to focus his attention on other things, mainly the many faces currently surrounding him, particularly that of Potter's spawn. The boy was short and slightly thinner than James, though the hair was the same black mess. He'd figured by now that those green eyes could only be the inheritance of Lily Evans, or rather as it most likely was, Lily Potter. He soon grew bored of the boy and his eyes wondered towards the bookshelf adjacent to the old man's desk.

When he'd followed Dumbledore into the office earlier that afternoon the house had been empty. Dumbledore had guided him away from a large portrait of a screaming woman before he could make out the engraved name on the bottom. He had been put through a brief interrogation upon reaching the small office, and an awful lot of sweets had been offered to him during those hours. Looking back at it now, Severus wished he'd taken one, he was absolutely starving. A wonderful aroma distracted him from his thoughts. He directed his head towards the open door just in time to see a red head pop in and announce in an apologetic, yet motherly way, that dinner was ready. The small congregation began to file out the door; all save for Dumbledore, the elder Snape, and a very wide-eyed Potter. The boy's green eyes shifted back and forth between the two dark figures, seeming to decide on which one he liked less. Dumbledore rested a hand on Potter's shoulder and guided him out the door. Some whispered words went unheard by the two Snapes as Dumbledore and the boy made their way downstairs. The young Severus made to follow, but was stopped suddenly by the heavy hand that grabbed his shoulder. Turning back abruptly, making the older man's hand drop with the rash action, Severus faced his aged self with a look of defiance. The older Snape moved towards his younger twin and gave him a stern look.

"I don't know how long you will be stuck in this situation, but I suggest you keep from doing anything stupid."

The young Snape felt his hands turn into fists at his sides and an angry knot form in his throat. His older self spoke in the most annoying of teacher- like voices. "I will definitely try, though you seem to have done a great job of surrounding yourself with the people you love" he drawled out sarcastically.

Severus was suddenly grabbed by the collar. The face of his older self floated inches from his, a violent expression of anger etched over its features. "Listen…" he said and it was like the hiss of a large venomous reptile. "You have no idea the chaos you have created by coming here. The potential repercussions of your little time excursion-"

"It was not an excursion!" Severus spat out. "It was their fault; those two idiots, James and that dog!"

"Those two idiots are dead."

It took Severus a minute to process the information. Meanwhile, his older self spoke on, finally relinquishing his collar. "Yes, there is a lot you've still to learn about this time. I suggest you make no assumptions about the people around you."

So Potter and Black were dead? _What about Lily?_ He meant to ask, but was interrupted by the soft creak of the door. A girl walked slowly inside, her face looking down at the book she held. She did not realized their presence until she was interrupted by his older self's angry growl. "Miss. Granger!" he barked, making her almost lose her balance. "Do you find it necessary to interrupt me even outside the classroom?" Severus immediately recognized her as the girl he'd seen earlier that day. Her eyes shifted between the two Snapes. "I'm sorry sir; I didn't realize anyone was in here. I simply came to look for a book."

The older Snape huffed in disinterest. "Of course you were Miss. Granger. Tell me is there anything else you do but read and interrupt?" The girl looked at Severus and then back at the older version, her face growing red with embarrassment. "I apologize for interrupting you, sir." She said forcing back the bite Severus knew she wanted to put into that statement. Before she could turn around and leave, Dumbledore floated into the room. "Oh Miss. Granger, I see you have met our guest" At Hermione's questioning glance, Dumbledore smiled. "It will all be explained downstairs. Now if you all follow me, we may begin." The three followed Dumbledore down the stairs. Severus could feel the girl's eyes stealing glances at his face, but his long curtain of hair prevented her from getting a full look. Severus smiled inwardly. There was something interesting about the girl, he'd noticed that morning too. There was certain intensity in her eyes which he found appealing. As she walked down the stairs beside him, Severus chanced a look at the book she held; _Ancient Antidotes: A Brief History of Potion Use in Medieval Europe. _Yes, she was definitely interesting. At the very least, he thought, they had the common dislike for his older self as basis for a conversation.


End file.
